CONCERT REVIEW: James Taylor sings Obama's praises

Wearing a light blue shirt, blue jeans and a white fedora, James Taylor opened with an acoustic version of “America the Beautiful” before praising Barack Obama and his running mate, Joe Biden.

By John StatonStaff Writer

James Taylor got applause even before he officially took the stage at Greenfield Lake Amphitheater Tuesday night.Fans who didn’t have tickets to the 900-seat venue crowded a perimeter fence to hear and get a glimpse of the singing and songwriting star. So, counting those inside the gates, more than 1,000 people saw Taylor play an hour-long set during which he performed some of his best-known songs. Taylor also unveiled a tune inspired by the man responsible for his presence there, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, in support of whom Taylor has played five free North Carolina concerts.Before the gates opened, and as ticket-holders waited in line to enter, those outside the fence watched, and clapped, as Taylor conducted a pre-show sound check.Then, after an invocation, the Pledge of Allegiance and brief messages from the Democratic Party faithful, Taylor took the stage to a standing ovation, one of several throughout the evening. His entrance prompted a much bigger crowd reaction than previous mentions of Obama’s name had gotten.Wearing a light blue shirt, blue jeans and a white fedora, Taylor opened with an acoustic version of “America the Beautiful” before praising Obama and his running mate, Joe Biden. He also took a couple of well-received shots at President George W. Bush and expressed support for early voting.Musically speaking, the band-less Taylor stuck mostly to playing solo acoustic versions of his hits, among them “Something In the Way She Moves,” “Fire and Rain” and “Mexico.” His voice sounded smooth and familiar, and folks weren’t shy about singing along.Taylor also talked a lot, and got several laughs out of the crowd. He made fun of his age, joking that his signed his first record contract in 1903, and talked about his frequent performances of the hit “You’ve Got a Friend,” a song written by former Taylor flame Carole King. “You could do worse than to have a song like that to sing every night,” Taylor said. “‘Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor on the Bedpost Overnight,’ having a hit with a song like that’s like a jail sentence.”Taylor worked Obama’s name into “You’ve Got a Friend,” drawing more cheers, but when one fan yelled out a request for “Steamroller,” Taylor demurred. “Can’t do that one,” he said of the famously profane song. Taylor veered dangerously close to cheese-ball territory when he sang two songs from his latest album, “Covers,” to a pre-recorded backing track of a full band. He poked fun at himself for doing it, calling the approach “karaoke,” but the crowd didn’t seem to mind, with many leaving their seats and dancing as Taylor played a mean blues harp to Junior Walker’s “I’m a Roadrunner.”But the most musically interesting thing Taylor did all night was what he called “a work in progress” when he started the crowd rhythmically chanting the words “go Obama go Obama go Obama go” while Taylor dropped in phrases like “lead the nation,” “lift us up” and one of the Democratic nominee’s slogans, “Yes we can.” Later, Taylor’s wife, Caroline, joined him to sing a couple of songs, including the favorite “Carolina in My Mind,” and the crowd called Taylor back for a one-song encore. After he played it and received yet another standing O, Taylor led the crowd in one last Obama chant, doffed his hat, bowed deeply to show his well-known bald head, and was gone.